Wedge inserting machine



April Y7, 1964 H. w. MOORE WEDGE INSERTING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed OCC. 14, 1960 LA azi] JIE. I

NEU ml INVENTOR. H/VW M0065 JIBZ April 7, 1964 H. w. MOORE WEDGEINSERTING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed OOL. 14, 1960 +Mw O'N mom 00Nwww www. wm

INVENTOR. HPV IM M0065 April 7, 1964 H. w. MOORE WEDGE INSERTING MACHINE5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 14, 1960 INVENTOR. HEV W ME H15 TmeA/EYSUnited States Patent O 3,127,662 WEDGE INSER'HNG MACHINE Harry W. Moore,5051 Kittridge Road, Dayton, Ghio Filed Get. 14, 196i), Ser. No. 62,5909 Claims. (Cl. 29-33) This invention relates to an apparatus forinserting insulating coil retaining wedges into field members ofdynamoelectric devices. More particularly, this invention relates to amechanism for inserting such wedges into the inwardly directed slotsprovided in an annular stator which is to be used in a motor, generatoror accumulator, but is not necessarily so limited.

In the process ot providing completed field members having inwardlydirected coil-receiving slos, it is necessary to provide wedges in theslots on top of the field carrying coils. The wedges serve a two-toldpurpose. They insulate the coils from the frame of the field member andretain the coils within the slots so that they do not slip out orunravel.

The number of slots provided in a stator or the like depends on theparticular design of the dynamoelectric member and will vary, forexample, as the number of poles or phases varies. Usually the number ofslots is an even number and is in the order of 24 to 36. When statorsare produced in large quantities, it is impractical to insert the wedgesmanually and it is desirable to provide a device for automaticallyinserting wedges into the stator slots.

Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide an improvedmechanism for automatically inserting wedges into the coil-receivingslots of a field member. The mechanism made in accordance with thisinvention is comparatively simple in operation in that only twoactuating members are required to insert the wedges into the slots. Aswill later be made apparent, each of the actuating members perform aplurality of functions.

The Wedges inserted into the field slots may be made of paper or fibrousembedded plastic materials which are easily damaged. Since the coilsdeposited in the slots normally occupy substantially the entire area ofthe slots, considerable difficulty has been experienced when insertingwedges into the slots without damage.

Therefore, a further object of this invention is to provide anautomatically operable mechanism for rapidly inserting insulating wedgesinto dynamoelectric field members without damage to the wedges or thefield members. The wedges are initially part of a continuous strip. Theautomatic mechanism moves the strip to a cutter to cut edges of thedesired size to t within the slots provided in the field member and thenmoves the wedges from the cutter to the slots in the field member.

A more specific object of this invention is to provide mechanism forinserting wedges into radial inwardly directed slots in annular fieldmembers including apparatus for pressing the coils adjacent the slotsradially outwardly. Thereby, the wedges may be inserted into the edgesof the slots Without interference from the coils and thus without damageto either the coils or the wedges.

Other objects and advantages reside in the construction of parts, thecombination thereof, the method of manufacture and the mode otoperation, as will become more apparent from the following description.

FIGURE l is a front elevational view, with portions broken away, of anautomatically operable wedge inserting mechanism made in accordance withthis invention.

FIGURE 2 is a top view of the mechanism.

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view of the mechanism, with portionsshown in section along lines 3 3 of FIG- URE l.

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FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE. 1 during one stage of operation ofthe mechanism.

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 3 during another stage of theoperation of the mechanism.

FIGURE 6 is an elevational view of a field member which may be providedwith wedges by the mechanism of this invention.

FlGURES 7 and 8 are enlarged perspective views of portions of anassembly used to sever a strip of wedge material into wedges.

FIGURE 9 is a partial exploded view of the parts used in inserting thewedges directly into the coil-receiving slots of the field member.

FIGURE l0 is a perspective View of a single Wedge which is to beinserted into one of the coil-receiving slots.

FIGURE ll is a partial view, taken along arcuate line ll of FIGURE 6, ofa portion of a field member which has been provided with coils andwedges.

An automatic mechanism for inserting wedges into iield members isindicated generally in FIGURES 1 and 2 by the reference character 2t).The entire mechanism 20 is supported on a mounting plate or bracket 22which is heid in a vertical position on top of support members indicateddiagrammatically at 24. While the mounting plate 22 is shown as beingvertical, it will become aparent from the following description that thevertical orientation is arbitrary and that the mounting plate 22 couldlie in a diierent plane.

A single stator or other field member, designated 26, to be providedwith wedges is mounted upon a cylindrical stator supporting head 28which in turn is supported by a mounting bracket 29 upon the plate 22.As shown in FIGURE 2, the bracket 29 is generally Zshaped, one leg 29abeing welded or otherwise afiixed to the plate 22, and buttressed by abracket 31. The other leg of the bracket, designated 2%, may berecessed, as shown at 29e in FlGURES 3 and 5, to receive a rearwardlyextending hub 28a which forms a part of the head 28. The hub 28a may bepress tit within the recess 29C and afxed to the bracket leg 29h in anysuitable fashion, as by bolts (not shown). Thus, the head 23 is iixedlymounted with respect to the plate 22. Aside from the hub 28a, the head28 is comprised of a plurality of approximately ringshaped plates 2817,Zc and 28d and a pair of collar members 2S@ and 28j. The plates 28h, 28Cand 28d are each provided with a cutout portion to form a Vguide channelfor a pressure member as will be described hereinafter. But for thedifiiculties and expense involved in manufacture, the head 2S could bemade from a single piece of metal. Since made from the plurality ofelements 28a through 23], a plurality of dowel pins 28g are required toretain the various portions of the head member as a unit.

As indicated by the phantom lines 26 in FIGURES 2, 3 and 5, one side ofthe field member 26 to be provided with wedges in accordance with thisinvention is placed in mating contact with an annular llange 3E) whichis integral with a rotatable annular ring-shaped wedge magazine 32. Themagazine 32 is rotatably mounted on the hub portion 28a from which it isseparated by an annular bearing 33, and is sandwiched between thebracket portion 29h and the head portion 28h. The sides ofthe fieldmember have a plurality of circumferentially spaced pins 34 engageableWithin a like number of recesses 36 in the flange 30, whereby therelative circumferential position of the member 26 and the flange 3@ isheld constant. A semicircular yoke or clamp 38 having a plurality ofrotatably mounted rollers 4@ engageable with the forward side of thefield member 26 retains the field member in engagement with the flangeBtl. The yoke 38 is supported on a suitable bracket (not shown) and isbiased by means of a spring or lever mechanism (not shown) so as tooccupy the yposition shown in vFIGURES 1 through 4. After one fieldmember is provided with wedges, as will be described hereinafter, theyoke 38 may be swung out of clamping position as indicated at 38a(FIGURE 5), the iield member removed and another inserted on the head28.

A pair of wedge supply reels (not shown) are mounted behind themechanism 20. Referring to FIGURES 2, 3 and 5, a strip 42 of wedgematerial is coursed from each supply reel through a wedge strip feedapparatus or supply assembly 44 into a icutter assembly 46 located atthe upper rear of the head 28. The feed assembly 44 comprises a pair offixed one-way brakes 48 and a pair of movable one-way clutches 50, therebeing one brake 48 and one movable clutch 50 associated with each strip42. Each fixed brake 48 comprises a pair of clamping jaws 52, each ofwhich is pivotally mounted upon a supporting bracket S4 attached to theplate 22. The jaws 52 are so mounted as to engage the associated strip42 on opposite sides thereof, the pivot points for the jaws beingequally spaced from the strip 42. Each of the jaws 52 has an arcuateclamping surface having `a constantly Varying radius. The smallestradius is less than one-half the distance between the pivot points forthe cooperating jaws forming each brake 48 while lthe largest radius isconsiderably greater than one-half the same distance. A spring 56 biasesthe portion of the jaws having the greatest radius together, whereby thejaws tightly engage the strip 42. It is apparent, however, that thestrips 42 may be moved forwardly, that is to the right as viewed in FIG-URES 3 and 5, whereby the friction between the strips and the jaws tendsto overcome the bias of the spring 56. However, rearward movement of thestrips 42 is prevented by .the jaws 52, since the friction then wouldadd to the bias of the spring 56, thus causing the jaws to more tightlyengage the strips. As shown in FIG- URE 2, the upper pair of jaws 52 forthe two brakes 48 are interconnected by a sleeve 58. The lower jaws 52are similarly interconnected. Accordingly, only one spring 56 isrequired for both brakes 48.

The movable clutches 50 are similar in construction to the fixed brakes48. In this case, however, a pair of jaw assemblies 60 are mounted on asupport block 62 which in turn is aiiixed to the top of an elongatelongitudinally extending ram 64. The ram 64 is reciprocated by a firstactuator A and guided by means of a channel member 66 and the collars28e and 2.8]c along the axis of the Supporting head 28. The top andbottom jaws respectively are connected by eccentric sleeves 68. A pairof parallel, longitudinally extending clutch release members 70 arelocated immediately between the sleeves 68, but still on opposite sidesof the strips 42. The release members '70 are supported by a post 72mounted on the plate 22. The forward portion 70a of each release member70 slopes forwardly and toward the strips 42.

The operation of the feed assembly 44 is as follows. Initially, theparts occupy the position shown in FIG- URE 3. The actuator A isenergized to move the ram 64 forwardly, that is to the right. At thestart of this movement, the jaws 60 forming the clutches 50 are heldfrom engagement with the strips 42 since the eccentric sleeves 68, asshown in the dotted line position in FIG- URE 5, are engaged with theopposed, parallel outer surfaces of the release members 70. However,upon continued forward movement, the sleeves are permitted to rotatealong the sloping ends 70a, whereby the jaws 60 tightly clamp the strips42. Upon further forward movement of the ram 64, the jaws 60= pull thestrips 42 forwardly. The forward movement of the ram is then terminated,whereby the parts occupy the position shown in FIGURE 5. 'Ihe strips arethus `fed to the cutter assembly 46 and, as will be more rfullydescribed below, a pair of Wedges are forced into the magazine 32. Theactuator A then returns the ram 64 rearwardly. Although the clutches 50are engaged with the strips 42 upon initial rearward movement of .theram, the strips 42 do not move rearwardly because of the one-'way brake48 as described above. Additionally, after a small amount of rearwardmovement, the eccentric sleeves 68 are engaged by the clutch releasemember 70, whereupon the jaws are pivoted out of engagement with thestrips. Thus, each time the ram 64 .is reciprocated by the actuator A,the strips 42 are advanced by small increments toward the cutterassembly 46.

The cutter assembly 46 includes a movable cutter v80 and a stationarycutter 82. These are shown in section in FIGURES 2 tand 4 'but are shownmore clearly in perspective view in FIGURE 8. Also, portions of FIGURES=l and 4 are cutaway to further disclose the operation of the cutterassembly. The movable cutter includes a central upright cutter head 84having a sloping upper surface 86 terminating in a pair ofIsemicylindrical bosses y88 which likewise have sloping surfacescoplanar with the surface 86. The top portions of the bosses 88constitute semicircular cutting edges 90. The bottom surface of thestationary cutter 82 is provided with a pair of U-shaped recesses 94which receive and guide the strips 42. The forward portions of therecesses 94 communicate with a cavity 96 by means of a pair of parallel,vertical, semicircular channels 98. The bosses 818 on the movable cutter80 are of such size as to precisely intert the bases of the verticalchannels 98 so that the strips are severed as the movable cutter `80moves upwardly. Since the cutting edges are semicircular, semicircularouts are made into the 4strips 42. A wedge so for-med is shown in FIGURE10i and is designated by reference character 180. Note that lit has aconvex leading or forward end surface 102 and a concave trailing orrearward end surface 104. The purpose of the yarcuate end surfaces 102,104 will later be made apparent.

The movable cutter head 84 is mounted, as by screws 118, on the uppersurface of a plate 1'12 forming the top plate of a yoke 114 which islslidably mounted within a support frame delined by a pair of parallel,vertical posts 116 attached by any suitable means (-not shown) to thesupport bracket 29. The yoke 114 is bifurcated to straddle the ram `64and is held against the support bracket 29 by means of a pair of guideplates 118 (FIGURE 2). The stationary cutter may be attached, as byscrews 120, to the top of the posts 116.

The yoke 114 is reciprocated up and down between the posts 116 by meansof a second actuator B. To this end, an actuating arm 1,22, which isguided by a pair of guide plates 124, 126 mounted near the top andbottom of the plate 22 respectively, is vertically reciprocated by anactuator B. A roller 128 mounted near the bottom of the arm 122 isengaged within a slot 130 in a cutter drive lever 132. The lever 132 ispivotally mounted upon a pivot pin 134 extending normally from astationary plate `136 which is iixedly mounted upon the bracket portion29h. A second slot 138 is provided w-ithinV the lever 1312 adjacent thepivot pin 134. T'he slot 1.38 receives a roller 140 mounted upon thebase of the yoke 114. When at rest, the parts occupy the position shownin iFIGURE l, wherein the lever |132 extends substantially horizontally.When the actuator B is energized, the `arm 122 is elevated, therebypivoting the lever 132 a countercloclcwise direction, as viewed inFIGURES 1 and 4, to the position shown in FIGURE 4. Accordingly, theroller 140, which is received within the slot 138 is likewise elevatedto lift the yoke 114. Of course, since the movable cutter head 84 ismounted upon the top plate 1/12 of the yoke, the strips 42 are therebysevered. The position of the cutter 80 as it moves from beneath thestrips 42 and into the cavity 96 provided in the stationary cutter 82 isindicated by the cutout portions in lFIG- URES l and 4. After the strips42 have been out, the actuator B returns th'e arm 122 to its lower orrest position shown in FIGURE l.

Thus, the first actuator A is adapted to actuate the feeding apparatus44 to feed segments of the wedge strips 42 into the cutter assembly.After each energization of the actuator A, the second actuator B isenergized to operate the cutting assembly 46, thereby severing thestrips to form a pair of Wedges 100. The actuators A and B, which may behydraulic or pneumatic cylinders, are alternately energized byconventional circuitry. Accordingly, after one pair of wedges 101i issevered from the strips 42, the actuator A is energized so as to feedanother segment of strips 42 'into the cutting assembly and therebyforcethe pair of wedges previously cut into a pair of wedge retainingapertures 142 (see FIGURE 5) in the magazine 32. As indicated in FIGURE9, there are as many apertures 142 in the magazine 32 as there arecoil-receiving slots in the member 26 and each aperture 1'42 is colinearywith the top of a slot in the stator. The term top of a slot refers tothe radially innermost portion of a slot, which is above the coils asviewed in FIG- URE ll. As shown most clearly in FIGURES l and 3, therearward portion of the head 23 is provided with an annular iange `144which prevents the Wedges 4100 from being pushed into the cavity formedbetween the front face of the magazine and the rear face of the stator.This cavity lis designated by reference character 146. The cavity 146 isoccupied `by a portion of the coils, labelled C, wound on the stato-rfrarne. if permitted to enter the cavity 146, the wedges could bedamaged by engagement with the uneven contour of the coils, or by apressure membery which lalso extends into the cavity 146 as will bedescribed below.

While the feed assembly 46 positively and reliably advances the wedgestrips 42 toward the cutting assembly and the severed Wedges into themagazine aperture, additional means are necessary to guide the Wedges100. Thus, because of the comparatively fragile nature of the wedgematerial, the wedge strips 42 must be accurately guided into therecesses 94 in the stationary cutter 82. Similarly, the wedges V100rmust be guided toward tihe magazine apertures 142.

The iirst guide for the wedge strips 42 is located to the rear of thebrake 48, and is designated 148 in FIGURES 3 and 5. Then, the clutch andbrake jaws themselves serve as guides for the strips 42. Another guidemember 150 is placed immediately adjacent the cutter assembly 46. Thisguide member may be termed a positioning member. It is shown incross-section in FIGURES 3 and 5 and in perspective in FIGURE 7. Thepositioning member 150 is generally L-shaped and includes a verticalplate or leg 152 and a horizontal plate or leg 154. The vertical legl)152 is attached to the top plate 112 of the yoke 1114 by means ofscrews 156 which extend through a pair of vertical adjusting slots `158in the leg 152. The leg 152 also includes a pair of elongate guide slots160 positioned above the slots 158. The strips 42 are coursed throughthe slots 160, as` shown most clearly in FIGURE 7. The slots 160 must besufliciently long to permit the positioning member 150` to travel withthe cutter head 84 Without moving the strips 42. To insure properhorizontal alignment of the guide slots 158 with respect to the cuttingassembly, a narrow alignment strip 162 is mounted vertically midwaybetween the slots 158 and positioned within a guide channel (not shown)in the yoke plate 1:12. The horizontal plate 154 overlies the cutterhead S4 and the strips 42, and is provided with a pair ofsemicylindricai bosses 164 which intert within the channels 93 in thestationary cutter 82. With this construction, the plate f1'54 serves topreserve the proper vertical alignment of the strips 42 with respect tothe cutting edges 90.

The severed wedges 100 are then guided through the recesses 94 in thebottom of the stationary cutter 82 and into the magazine `apertures 142.Since there is a gap between the cutter 32 and Ithe magazine 32, a pairof parallel spring prongs 166 project between the apertures 94 and themagazine 312 to hold the severed wedges in engagement fwith the side ofthe support leg 29h adjacent the cutter 82. As best illustrated inyFIGURE 8, the

prongs 166 are each integral with a spring metal plate 168 attached tothe rear face of the cutter 82 by a screw or bolt 170.

The actuator B in addition to `operating the cutting assembly 46 alsoprovides a drive means for rotatably indexing the magazine 312 withrespect to the head 28 about their common axis. For this purpose, aplurality or indexing pins extend into or through the magazine 32 andare oircumferentially aligned about the periphery of the magazine. Thevertically movable actuating arm 122 supports a pivotal indexing pawl182. As stated above, the arm 122 is at its lowermost position as shownin `FIGURE 1. Upon energization of the cylinder B, the arm 122 movesupwardly whereby the pawl 182 engages one of the indexing pins 180 toforce `the magazine 32 to rotate in a counterclockwise direction.

In the speciiic example disclosed, the mechanism is designed to loadwedges into a stator having 36 slots. Since two wedge strips 42 areused, two apertures 142 in the magazine 32 are provided -with Wedges ina single operation. The magazine 32 must then be rotated by 20 topresent a new pair of apertures 142 in position to receive wedges fromthe cutting assembly. Accordingly, there are 13 indexing pins 180` andthe pawl 182 sequentially engages each pin so that as each pin isengaged, it is forced into a position previously occupied by the closestpin located in la counterclockwise direction. The position occupied bythe pawl 182 at the termination of its indexing movement is shown inFIGURE 4. Upon the return stroke or the arm 122 to its lowermost or FIG-URE l position, the pawl i182 is cammed around the next pin to beactuated, that is the pin indicated at 180m in FIGURE 4. Spring means(not shown) return the pin to its FIGURE l position after the pawl iscamrned about the pin 130g. Clockwise [rotation of the magazine 32 isprevented by means or" a latching pawl l184 which engages behind thelofwermost pin 18019 and is spring biased by a spring (not shown) sothat it may pivot to the dotted line 184e in FIGIRE 4 as the magazine`22 is indexed. When the anni 122 is in its rest position, shown inFIGURE l, counterclockwise rotation of the magazine is prevented by alocking linger 186 adjustably mounted upon the arm 122. When the arm 122rises upon energization of the actuator B, the locking linger 186 alsorises to release the magazine 32 for counterclockwise rotation. Thus,the magazine 32 may be accurate-ly indexed by 20 upon each reciprocalmovement of the arm 122.

The 4alternate ienergization of the actua-tors A and B continuesthroughout the operation of the mechanism. With each energization of theactuators A and 13, a pair of wedges 16? are moved into a pair ofmagazine apertures 142. After one-half of the apertures 142 have beenloaded with wedges, and accordingly the magazine 32 has been rotated by180, the lowermost pair of apertures 1142, as viewed in FIGURE 3, areloaded `with Wedges. yIn this lowermost position, the wedges 10u areforced out :of the apertures 142 into the slots provided in the stator26. This is accomplished by means of a pair of elongate, longitudinallyextending wedge engaging fingers 190y (FIGURES 3, 5 and 9) which aremounted upon -a support block l192 attached to the ram 64. As the ram 64is moved forwardly, that is to the right as shown in FIGURE 5, thefin-gers 190 project into the lowermost apertures 142 to force thewediges out of the apertures.

Before the Wedges can be forced out of the apertures, however, it isdesirable to insure that there is suicient space in the stator slots toreceive the wedges. Some of the coils C may lie in the top of the slotsso as to block or hinder entry of wedges into the slots. Thus, ytoinsure sufficient space for entry of the wedges, the coils adjacent theslots mrust be lforced radially outwardly. Also, the wedges leaving themagazine apertures 142 rnust be accurately guided through the cavity 146and into the proper stator slots.

To insure space for the wedges within the stator slots and to guide thewedges into the slot, a coil pressure member 200 is slidably confinedwithin the supporting head 28. As shown in FIGURE 5, the pressure member200 may comprise an inner press plate 202 and an outer press plate 204separated from the plate 202 by a mounting plate 206. The press plates'202, 204 extend on opposite sides of the stator. The three plates 202,204 and 206 are sandwiched together by a screw or bolt 208 and held in afixed relative position by one or more dowel pins 210. A wedge guidemember 212 having a pair of guide channels 214, only one of which isshown, extending therethrough is mounted on the base of the inner plate202. An arcuate blocking flange 216 extends downwardly from the member212 and forms, with the flange 144, a complete circular flange forblocking the wedges located within the magazine apertures 142. A pair ofupright support flanges 218 are mounted on top of the mounting plate206. The flanges 218 support a cam follower roller 2,20 therebetween.The ram 64 is provided with a cam surface 222 near its forward endwhich, as shown in FIG- URE 3, engages the cam follower 220 when the ram64 is at its rearmost or rest position. When the cylinder A is energizedto drive the ram forwardly, the cam surface 220 drives the pressuremember radially outwardly, that is downwardly from the position shown inFIGURE 3 to that shown in FIGURE 5. When in the FIGURE 5 position, thepressure plates 202 and 204 straddle the stator frame and force theadjacent coils radially outwardly. Also, the wedge guide member 212 isso positioned that the channels 214 therein form a path between thelowermost magazine apertures 142 and the stator slots. The guide for thewedges 100 is completed by a pair of downwardly extending flanges 224,best shown in FIG- URES 3 and 4, which enter the uppermost or radiallyinnermost portion of the stator slots.

From the above description, it is seen that each time the cylinder A isenergized to move the ram 64 forwardly, the surface 222 immediately camsthe roller 220 and accordingly, the pressure member 200 radiallyoutwardly to likewise force a portion of the coils C radially outwardly.At the same time, a wedge guide path is completed to insure transfer ofthe lowermost pair of wedges 100 into lthe top of the lowermost pair ofstator slots. Thus, with the pressure member 200 provided by thisinvention, the wedges may be transferred to the stator slots withoutdamage. The ram must move a considerable distance forwardly before thefingers 190 enter the magazine apertures 142. Because of this lostmotion by the fingers 194, the pressure member is first moved radiallyoutwardly to depress the coils and provide the aforementioned guidepath.

Upon the return stroke of the ram 64, the roller 220 is f ree to moveupwardly as viewed in the drawings when it again contacts the camsurface 222. The upward movement of the roller 220 and the pressuremember 200 may be accomplished by a pair of return springs 226 shown inFIGURE 1. The springs 226 are partially enclosed within borings in themounting plate 206 and engage stop ledges 228 machined on the supportinghead portion 28C.

After the pressure member 200 is returned to its rest or FIGURE 3position, the cylinder B is energized, thereby rotating the magazine 32and the stator by 20 as described above. Note that rotation of thestator is effectively impossible when the pressure member is in theposition shown in FIGURE 5 due to the engagement of the pressure plates202, 204 with the coil C. Of course, as stated above, after the magazineand stator have been indexed, the transfer operation described above isrepeated whereupon another pair of wedges 100 are safely transferred tothe stator slots. This process continues until all of the stator slotshave been provided with wedges as shown in FIGURE 1l. The stator maythen be removed, either manually or :automatically by suitable apparatus(not shown). Another stator may then be positioned upon the head 28.After the first stator has been loaded with coils, one-half of themagazine apertures 142 remain loaded with wedges 100. Accordingly, uponthe first forward stroke of the ram 64, a pair of wedges 100 will betransferred from the magazine 32 to the stator slots. Therefore, theprocess of providing the second and subsequent stators with wedges willbe completed more rapidly than with the first stator.

As already noted, the wedge strips 42 are cut by semicircular edges andaccordingly, the leading edge 102 of each wedge is convex while thetrailing edge 104 is concave. The convex leading edge is desirable toaid in guiding the wedges upon entering either the magazine apertures142 or the stator slots. Since the trailing edge 104 of each wedge isconcave, the leading edge of the fingers 190 is formed so as to providea cooperating con- Vex surface as shown most clearly in FIGURE 9.

In review, the operation of the presently preferred ernbodiment is asfollows. There are live basic operating units; the wedge feed assembly44, the cutter assembly 46, the magazine rotating means, the coilpressure member 200, and the finger means for inserting the wedges intothe stator slots. Two of the five units, namely the cutter assembly 46and the magazine rotating means are driven and controlled by theactuator B through the vertically reciprocal actuating arm 122. Thus, asthe arm 122 moves from the FIGURE l to the FIGURE 4 position, themagazine 32 and the stator or other field member mounted on the head 2Sare rotated through a predetermined angle due to the engagement betweenthe indexing pawl 182 mounted on the arm 122 and one of the indexingpins provided in the magazine 32. Simultaneously, the movable cutter 80moves upwardly to sever the strands 42 since the yoke 114 upon which thecutter 80 is mounted is operably connected to the arms 122 by the cutterdrive lever 132. The actuator B then returns the arm 122 to itslowermost or FIGURE l position wherein the magazine is accurately lockedby the latching pawl 184 and the locking finger 186.

The remaining units are driven and controlled by the actuator A throughthe horizontally reciprocal ram 64. Thus, the drive for the feedassembly 44 is provided by the clutches 50 which are connected to theram 64 through the support block 62. The pressure member 200, whichpresses radially outwardly against the coils adjacent the pair of statorslots to be provided with wedges is driven by the cam surface 222provided near the front of the ram 64. Finally, the fingers whichtransfer the wedges 100 from the magazine aperture 142 to the statorslots are connected to the ram 64 through the support block 192. Uponinitial movement of the ram 64 forwardly, the cam surface 222 forces thepressure member 200 radially outwardly, that is downwardly as viewed inFIG- URES 3 and 5. Thereafter, continued forward movement of the ram 64causes the strips 42 to be moved forwardly to the cutter 46. Also, thewedges 100 previously severed from the strips 42 are advanced into theuppermost pair of magazine apertures 142. Simultaneously, the wedgeslocated in the lowermost pair of magazine apertures 142 are transferredto the lowermost pair of stator slots.

The actuators A and B are alternately energized. Thus7 after wedges areforced into one pair of stator slots, an empty pair of slots is indexedinto position to receive wedges. This process is continued until all ofthe slots are loaded with wedges.

In the example illustrated, the pair of magazine apertures 142 which arebeing loaded with wedges are diametrically opposed to the apertureswhich are being unloaded. Of course, the feed apparatus 44 and thefingers 190 could be so positioned that the angle between the aperturesbeing loaded and unloaded is less or greater than 180.

The circuitry for controlling the alternate energization of theactuators A and B may be of any suitable character. Since there arenumerous types of conventional control circuits suitable to practice theinvention, it is believed unnecessary to encumber this specificationwith the details of such a circuit. The circuit chosen may be housed ina frame 230 mounted on an unused portion of the plate 22.

An example of a stator which has been provided with wedges 106 is shownin FIGURE 1l. The stator frame, designated 240 has been wound with coilsC which are deposited in the stator slots, designated 242. Each slot islined with a U-shaped insulating element 244. The wedges 19) cooperatewith the elements 244 to completely insulate the coils from the walls ofthe slots 242.

Although the presently preferred embodiment of the device has beendescribed, it will be understood that within the purview of thisinvention various changes may be made in the form, details, proportionand arrangement of parts, the combination thereof and mode of operation,which generally stated consist in a device capable of carrying out theobjects set forth, as disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. Apparatus for inserting wedges into the coil-receiving slots in afield member comprising in combination: a field member support; a wedgemagazine having a plurality of wedge retaining apertures therein mountedadjacent said support, supply means intermittently operable to load atleast one aperture in said magazine with a wedge upon each operationthereof; drive means producing intermittent relative rotation betweenthe magazine and the supply means; means alternately actuating saidsupply means and said drive means whereby successive magazine aperturesare loaded with wedges; and means spaced from said supply means fortransferring wedges from the magazine to a field member mounted on saidsupport.

2. The combination according to claim l in which said support iscylindrical; means being provided to retain a field member to beprovided with wedges in engagement with said magazine, and in which saiddrive means is operatively coupled with said magazine to intermittentlyrotate said cartridge and the eld member about said Support.

3. Apparatus for inserting wedges into the top of coilreceiving slots ina ring shaped eld member comprising: a fixed cylindrical supportinghead; a rotatable wedge magazine mounted upon said head, said magazinehaving a plurality of apertures spaced about the periphery of said head;an annular fiange integral with said magazine surrounding and in spacedrelation to said head; means clamping a field member on said head withone face in engagement with said fiange and with its slots aligned withthe apertures in the magizine; means interconnecting said fiange andsaid field member whereby said field member rotates about said head uponrotation of said magazine; means to supply wedges to the apertures insaid magazine; transfer means operable to move wedges from said magazineto slots in the field member, and indexing means to rotate the magazineand eld member by increments after at least one slot has been providedwith a wedge.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 in which said means to supply wedgesincludes a cutting assembly and a wedge strip feed assembly, said feedassembly being intermittently operable to supply lengths of stripmaterial to said cutting assembly whereupon the strip material is cutinto wedges and to force the cut wedges from said cutting assembly intothe magazine apertures.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 further comprising a pair of alternatelyenergized actuators, one of said actuators being operably connected tosaid transfer means and said feed assembly to simultaneously supply saidcutting assembly with the strip material and transfer at least one wedgefrom said magazine to the field member, the other of said actuatorsbeing operably connected to said cutting assembly and said indexingmeans to simultaneously cut this strip material into wedges and rotatesaid magazine.

6. A mechanism for inserting Wedges into inwardly directed slotsprovided in an annular field member in which field carrying coils havebeen deposited, comprising: a ram; means for reciprocating said ramalong a linear path; a field member supporting head; a magazine providedwith a plurality of apertures rotatably mounted upon said head; meansfor retaining a field member on said head in abutment with said magazinewith the slots provided in the field member aligned with the aperturesin said magazine; a cutting assembly mounted adjacent said magazine; anactuating arm; means operably connecting said arm and said cuttingassembly; supply means mounted upon said ram for supplying a strip ofwedge material to said cutting assembly; said actuating arm beingactuable to operate said cutter to cut said strip into wedges and saidram being actuable to supply the strip to said cutting assembly andwedges cut from said strip to the apertures in said magazine; aninserting finger mounted upon said ram; said finger being adapted toenter one of said magazine apertures and push a wedge located thereininto one of the slots in the field member; pressure means adapted todepress coils adjacent a slot to be provided with a wedge; meansinterconnecting said pressure means and said ram whereupon initialmovement of said ram actuates said pressure means and continued movementof said ram causes said fingers to enter said last mentioned aperture;and indexing means connected to said arm for indexing said magazine uponremoval of said pressure means and said finger to present a differentaperture in alignment with said cutting assembly and also a differentaperture in alignment with said finger.

7. A mechanism for inserting wedges into inwardly directed slotsprovided in an annular field member in which field carrying coils havebeen deposited, comprising: a field member supporting head; a magazinerotatably mounted upon said head, said magazine being provided with aplurality of apertures extending longitudinally therethrough; means forretaining a field member upon said head in abutting engagement with aportion of said magazine; pressure means mounted within said head andmovable to depress coils extending adjacent a pair of slots in saidfield member; a cutting assembly mounted rearwardly of said head andsaid magazine; a ram mounted for movement along the axis of said headand said magazine; supply means mounted upon said ram for supplying apair of strips to said cutting assembly; a pair of fingers mounted uponsaid ram adapted to enter a pair of apertures in said magazine and forcewedges from said apertures into a pair of slots in said field member;means interconnecting said ram and said pressure means such that uponinitial movement of said ram, the pressure means depresses a portion ofthe coils adjacent the slots to be provided with wedges and uponcontinued movement of said ram a pair of wedges are forced by saidfingers into said last mentioned slots.

8. In a mechanism for inserting wedges into the top of inwardly directedcoil-receiving slots of a ring shaped field member, in which coils aredeposited, the combination comprising: a cylindrical field membersupporting head; means retaining a field member on said supporting head;a Wedge magazine mounted on said supporting head, said magazine having aplurality of wedge retaining apertures aligned with the slots in thefield member; a radially movable pressure member slidably mounted withinsaid supporting head; a ram; cam means interconnecting said pressuremember and said ram whereby movement of said ram in one direction causessaid pressure member to move radially outwardly thereby moving a portionof the coils away from the slots to be provided with wedges; fingermeans adapted to enter the magazine apertures to force the wedgestherein into the field member slots, said finger means being attached tosaid ram; and guide means 1 1 attached to the outermost surface of saidpressure member for guiding the wedges from said magazine to the statorslots.

9. The combination of claim 8, in which said pressure' member comprisesa pair of press plates adapted to engage the coils on opposite sides ofthe field member, and a mounting plate separating and attached to saidpress plates, said mounting plate having at least one ange thereon Whichenters the top of a coil-receiving slot to guide the Wedge Within theslot.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

1. APPARATUS FOR INSERTING WEDGES INTO THE COIL-RECEIVING SLOTS IN AFIELD MEMBER COMPRISING IN COMBINATION: A FIELD MEMBER SUPPORT; A WEDGEMAGAZINE HAVING A PLURALITY OF WEDGE RETAINING APERTURE THEREIN MOUNTEDADJACENT SAID SUPPORT, SUPPLY MEANS INTERMITTENTLY OPERABLE TO LOAD ATLEAST ONE APERTURE IN SAID MAGAZINE WITH A WEDGE UPON EACH OPERATIONTHEREOF; DRIVE MEANS PRODUCING INTERMITTENT RELATIVE ROTATION BETWEENTHE MAGAZINE AND THE SUPPLY MEANS; MEANS ALTERNATELY ACTUATING SAIDSUPPLY MEANS AND SAID DRIVE MEANS WHEREBY SUCCESSIVE MAGAZINE APERTURESARE LOADED WITH WEDGES; AND MEANS SPACED FROM SAID SUPPLY MEANS FORTRANSFERRING WEDGES FROM THE MAGAZINE TO A FIELD MEMBER MOUNTED ON SAIDSUPPORT.